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Oxford Crown,

Alec Coker (Maker)

Corn dolly; ‘Oxford Crown’, designed and made by Alec Coker based on group-linked plaits. A bunch of corn ears hangs at the bottom.
This corn dolly, called an ‘Oxford Crown’, was designed and made by Alec Coker based on group-linked plaits. It consists of a centre made up of group-linked plaits woven into loops, which are surrounded by four thicker plaited bands forming the main oval structure. A bunch of corn ears hangs at the bottom.

1 corn dolly: corn

MERL miscellaneous note Greta Bertram, 20 August 2013 – The 'Coker Collection' of corn dollies was bequeathed to the Museum by Alec Coker, who devoted his retirement from 1965 until his death in 1986 to spreading knowledge of and teaching the craft of corn dolly making. He first became interested in the craft when working at the BBC when he encountered dollies as props on the set of ‘Lorna Doone’ in the 1930s. ‘Corn’ is a term for the family of grains which includes barley, oats, wheat and rye. ‘Corn dolly’ is a wide-ranging term which includes figures, love tokens, crosses, Scandinavian star designs, and Far Eastern shrine dolls made from ‘corn’ straw. Techniques used in the craft include tying, plaiting, weaving and marquetry. The corn dolly was originally an object used in rites and rituals, and in many parts of the world it was believed that the ‘Corn Goddess’ lived in the crop and died when it was harvested. Images of the Goddess, or other talismans, were woven from the last sheaf to be reaped and carefully preserved to ensure an abundant crop the following year. By the twentieth century, corn dollies had lost their ritual associations, and from the 1950s there was a concerted effort to preserve the craft of corn dolly making., MERL 'Handwritten accession' form (Institute of Agricultural History) – ‘Description: Oxford Crown // The centre is made up of group linked plaits woven into loops. Surrounding these, are thicker plaited bands. These four bands form the main oval structure. At the bottom is a bunch of corn ears. // Dimensions: 30cm x 10cm // Associated information: This Oxford Crown was made by Alec Coker to provide a figure which ‘grew’ from a group linked plait. // References: A. Coker. The Craft of Straw Decoration p.68 // A. Coker’s Collection List of Corn Dollies no.117’